Poor Alvin

I know it turns out that he’s got legal problems and that the cheese probably slipped off of his cracker a while ago, but that doesn’t mean that he was part of some conspiracy to keep party favorite Vic Rawl from winning the primary election.  In fact, if you listen to Michel Martin’s interview on Tell Me More with Carol Fowler, the chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party, it sounds like Alvin understood what he was getting into and was clear about why he was running when she talked to him before the election.

The worrying thing about the interview is that Fowler, who will preside over the protest hearing on Thursday, admits that she believes U.S. Representative Jim Clyburn when he says that something was wrong with the election. It sounds like she’s already made her mind up. (If you don’t know who Clyburn is, he’s the first African-American to be elected to Congress from South Carolina since Reconstruction and is currently the House Majority Whip. As such, he has a lot of sway over what happens in the Democratic Party at the state level.) The easiest thing for the party to do now would be to void the result of the primary, based on whatever evidence Rawl comes up with, and order a do-over, thus avoiding more embarrassment. (I’m not saying that they will. I’m just saying.)

In the end, none of this matters. Jim DeMint, the Republican incumbent, is the most popular politician in South Carolina and he will win in November no matter if it’s Alvin or Vic who runs against him.

Except that it does matter. If it turns out that Alvin saved up his military pay to pay the filing fee because thought he could make a difference in the Senate, and if the hearing on Thursday robs him of the chance to run in November, then not only does he lose, but voters like me lose, too.

(The link to the interview worked until I hit the publish button. I'm working on it.)

Update: The link is working now.

Comments

[imabug]

I think it was on News2 that I saw an interview with a lady who essentially said she wasn't familiar with any of the candidates, didn't know who they were or what they were all about and voted for Greene because his was the first name on the ballot.

it's probably not a big stretch to imagine that she wasn't the only person to vote like that.

[Margaret]

I'm not sure I understand SC politics, Mike--but does anyone? :) Can it be boiled down to Republicans always win? (more or less)

[Mike]

More or less, at the state and federal level. Democrats tend to do better at the local level.

[Gregg Jocoy]

Sorry...couldn't find an email link anywhere.

TOM CLEMENTS FOR U.S. SENATE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 6, 2010

GREEN PARTY U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE TOM CLEMENTS PLANS A VIGOROUS CAMPAIGN ACROSS SOUTH CAROLINA

The Green Party of South Carolina has a serious candidate in Tom Clements in the race against entrenched Republican Jim DeMint and Democrat Alvin Greene.

Clements is organizing a statewide senatorial campaign so that the people of South Carolina have a real choice for change in November.

With Charleston businesswoman Linda Ketner’s decision not to place her name on the ballot as a petition candidate, Clements is encouraging her supporters to take a look at his campaign, get involved and pull the lever for him on Election Day.

“Now that Ms. Ketner has decided not to run, this gives the green light to disaffected Democrats, Republican and independents to unify behind my campaign,” says Clements. “I pledge not only to take into close consideration the concerns of Ketner supporters but also the views of voters across the political spectrum. My campaign will now laser in on Mr. DeMint and that he has failed to properly represent all South Carolinians while helping create a destructive climate in Washington that has harmed us all.”

While many are preoccupied with the controversy inside the Democratic Party, Tom Clements’ campaign is reaching out across the state with a message of change from the grassroots up and will zero in on the host of reasons why DeMint is a poor choice for South Carolina and is an incumbent who should be voted out of office.

“I’m a working person who is concerned about working folk’s needs and will best represent them in the Senate,” says Clements. “I have been a life-long activist for public interest issues, so I know how the political system works. I have been involved in politics from a research and advocacy standpoint for my entire adult life, so I am quite prepared for this job.”

Tom Clements is the only candidate in the race with the ideas and platform to go up against incumbent Republican Senator Jim DeMint for the Senate seat he now holds. Clements holds that DeMint is out of touch with the real needs of the people in South Carolina, is beholden to his own political agenda, and is an advocate of a Congress beholden to corporate interests.

“Jim DeMint is obviously more concerned about raising money off questionable radical candidates in other states than he is about listening to the people of South Carolina,” said Clements. “DeMint is AWOL and needs to come home and join in the discussion about who the people will choose to represent them.”

Clements is already an approved candidate by the SC State Election Commission and will appear at the top of the ballot on November 2. He has also filed papers with the Federal Election Commission in advance of the legal requirement to do so. Clements was chosen as the Senate candidate at the Green Party convention and thus did not have to pay a filing fee.

Clements is well-equipped to debate Jim DeMint and Democrat Alvin Greene toe-to-toe on a variety of issues ranging from foreign and domestic affairs, the environment, health care, immigration, the massive national debt and other topics of concern to South Carolinians. “I will listen to all South Carolinians of all views and beliefs and pay close attention to the rightful anger and mistrust about the mess in Washington,” said Clements.

Tom has the credentials not only to debate DeMint, but more importantly, to serve the people of South Carolina once he’s elected to the US Senate. Tom has been a tireless advocate for the ratepayer and consumer. He has intervened in S.C. Public Service Commission rate hikes in an effort to keep utilities from raising rates in a period of economic downturn. He has also challenged the law that allows utilities to begin charging ratepayers for a nuclear power plant before it is even approved or built.

The Clements steering committee includes: Francis Close, campaign manager,

Kevin A. Gray, communications advisor, Scott West, issues & platform, Gerald Rudolph, Gregg Jocoy, David Whiteman and Susan Corbett. A general statewide campaign committee is also being formed as Clements intends to campaign in all six congressional districts in the state.

Tom has been an outspoken yet fair critic regarding the clean up of deadly radioactive waste at the Savannah River Site (SRS). He has advocated safer, cleaner and more responsible methods and has opposed expensive, risky and environmentally damaging programs. He is a fierce opponent of new missions at SRS that would create or bring more nuclear waste to our state and an advocate of a clean energy park at SRS that would help develop offshore wind, solar, geothermal and other renewable technologies.

Tom has been recognized both statewide and nationally for his work as the Southeastern Nuclear Campaign Coordinator for the US branch of the Friends of the Earth organization, located in Columbia. Last year he was awarded the Thunder and Lightning Activist award from the S.C. Progressive Network, a coalition of South Carolina organizations working to better the economic and social conditions of all South Carolinians. Also in 2009, he was honored with the Grassroots Activist of the Year award from the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability, a national umbrella group of Non-Governmental Organizations that focuses on the performance of Department of Energy nuclear sites.

Tom has extensive foreign policy experience. In his past work with Greenpeace International and as Executive Director of the Nuclear Control Institute, he interacted regularly with official representatives of other countries, at the

United Nations in New York and Geneva, and at embassies in Washington, D.C. and abroad.

Tom has been a courageous, outspoken advocate and human rights activist in Central and South America. He is fluent in Spanish and served in the Peace Corps in Costa Rica. He also worked for the human rights organization Peace Brigades International, whose mission is to provide international accompaniment to Colombian human rights advocates and to communicate with the Colombian government, UN officials and foreign government about the situations that the Colombian organizations faced. Clements traveled throughout the country with Colombian colleagues and learned first-hand about human rights violations at the hands of the army, and paramilitary and guerrilla forces.

For more information, call 803-834-3084; or visit Tom’s website at http://clementsforsenate.com/ or http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tom-Clements-for-US-Senate/128952760459672.

For further information on Clements’ candidacy see:

1) SC State Election Commission:

http://www.scvotes.org/files/2010%20Convention%20Party%20Candidates.pdf

2) Federal Election Commission:
http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/can_detail/S0SC00214/

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